Charges Against Elderly Man Who Was Arrested for Flintlock Pistol in NJ Have Been DROPPED

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As you might remember, earlier this month we announced that an elderly New Jersey man, Gordon VanGilder, had been charged with illegal possession of a firearm for having an antique, flintlock pistol in his car.

In a rare example of common sense, NJ prosecutors have dropped those charges.

Weapons charges against a Maurice River Township man found to be in possession of an antique handgun have been dropped, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday…

…”The public should be forewarned about the prescriptions against possessing a firearm (even an antique) in a vehicle,” Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McCrae said Wednesday in a written statement.

“Notwithstanding, upon careful review of the circumstances of this case, I am exercising prosecutorial discretion to dismiss the (unlawful possession of a weapon) charges in the interest of justice in accordance with,” the Graves Act governing firearms offenses in New Jersey.

Good job to the prosecutor for recognizing that this wasn’t an issue that needed to be pressed.